During the 25th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Hyderabad, Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kings XI Punjab by 13 runs in a match which saw a serious turn of events.
After Ravichandran Ashwin put the home team in to bat, Punjab restricted Hyderabad to 132-6 in 20 overs. In the second innings, Kings XI Punjab had scored 44-0 in the powerplay. However, a batting collapse saw them being bowled out for 119 in 19.2 overs.
It was the second time in two matches when Hyderabad have successfully defended a target as low as this.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
Manish Pandey (SRH) – Manish Pandey came in to bat at No. 4 in the third over in a situation where his team was in a spot of bother. It wasn’t the best of his innings especially when it came to the format, but was full of intent and maturity. He ended up scoring 54 (51) with the help of three fours and a six.
Ankit Rajpoot (KXIP) – Ankit Rajpoot picked up his second T20 five-wicket haul and first IPL five-wicket haul. He became the first uncapped Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the IPL. Rajpoot finished with bowling figures of 4-0-14-5 which adjourned him the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
Rashid Khan (SRH) – It was another of those matches where Rashid Khan proved as to why he is one of the top T20 bowlers around. He took the wickets of Lokesh Rahul, Karun Nair and Ravichandran Ashwin in his spell which read 4-0-19-3.
Flops
Kane Williamson (SRH) – Kane Williamson, captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, failed to get off the mark as he was dismissed by Ankit Rajpoot in the first over of the innings. Williamson couldn’t adjust to the extra bounce as he lobbed a simple catch to Ashwin at mid off.
Mayank Agarwal (KXIP) – Mayank Agarwal has been getting good opportunities in this season of the IPL. Having said that, he has not performed to the expectations which has been bestowed upon him. Agarwal tried to take on Shakib Al Hasan, but failed as he handed a catch to Manish Pandey. He ended up scoring 12 (15).
Aaron Finch (KXIP) – Aaron Finch has featured in this IPL as both an opener and a middle-order batsmen. One thing which has remained constant in all the matches has been his dismal form. In a low-scoring match, a little time spent by him in the middle could have changed the course of the match. He scored 8 (4) with the help of one six.
